Get to know the people behind Living Practices.
Our Team
Our team members bring over a decade of experience in driving organizational transformation across a variety of sectors. We are skilled in supporting organizations through the complexities of change. Whether you're navigating internal shifts or leading external initiatives, our team combines deep knowledge and hands-on experience to guide your organization toward lasting, meaningful impact.
Get to know the people behind Living Practices—our backgrounds, our experiences, and our shared passions for organizational change.
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Pascale Diverlus
She/Her
Bachelor of Journalism, Toronto Metropolitan University
Writer, Equity Educator and CEO of Living Practices
Pascale Diverlus is born of a lineage of Haitian freedom fighters. She is an award-winning community organizer, storyteller, communications specialist, digital strategist, and educator. Pascale is the Principal Consultant of Living Practices, a boutique consultancy specializing in social justice education, project management and a comprehensive range of communication services.
Pascale has been immersed in social movements for over a decade. Most notably, she was a founding member and lead organizer with the Black Lives Movement in Canada. During her time, she was a part of the creation of Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism. Pascale led the movement’s community engagement, curriculum development, public education, and direct action coordination. Pascale was a core organizer of BLMTO’s biggest actions, including #BLMTOTentCity and disrupting Toronto Pride. Her activism began in her student days, where she organized for free education, comprehensive sexual violence policies, and police-free campuses across multiple Toronto campuses.
Pascale sits on the advisory board of many social justice organizations including; Adornment Stories, Across Boundaries, and Planned Parenthood Toronto. Pascale is the recipient of the J.S Woodsworth Human Rights Award, the Viola Desmond Award and the Evelyn Myrie Political Action Award.
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Vilma Funes
She/Her
Bachelor of Sociology, York University
Diploma in Assaulted Women's and Children's Counsellor Advocate, George Brown College
Vilma Funes is a strategic and results-driven Operations and Project Management Consultant bringing over 15 years of expertise. She is known for transforming operational complexities into streamlined, high-impact solutions that drive organizational success.
Fluent in Spanish and English, Vilma brings a nuanced cultural perspective to her work, ensuring that liberatory ethics are embedded in all operational frameworks. She excels in developing innovative tools and strategies that optimize workflows, enhance efficiency, and maintain the integrity of reporting processes. Her ability to analyze systems, identify critical gaps, and implement scalable solutions has been instrumental in stabilizing departments and fostering sustainable growth.
An ongoing advocate for justice for marginalized people, Vilma ensures that her project strategies are comprehensive and respectful of all stakeholder needs, reflecting her commitment to empowering marginalized groups and social enterprises.
SENIOR FACILITATOR
Chrys Saget-Richard
They/Them
B.C.L/J.D. McGill University
BSW, Toronto Metropolitan University
Chrys obtained their B.C.L./J.D. from McGill University’s Faculty of Law with a concentration in Indigenous Studies and holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Toronto Metropolitan University. Chrys currently works as a conflict resolution within a Canadian labour union. They develop and facilitate alternative dispute resolution processes and advise on organizational strategies to manage conflict, including education, training and coaching. They also recently worked as a Parliamentary Research Assistant in the office of the Honourable Senator Kim Pate, whose work focuses on decarceration, anti-poverty and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Chrys has been heavily engaged in progressive education and activist work around issues of anti-Black racism, decolonization, gender justice, queer and trans justice, disability justice, anti-poverty and harm reduction. While working as a placement student at the City of Toronto, they contributed to the development of two different equity strategies for the city: the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism and the Toronto Youth equity Strategy (TYES), to address discrimination against racialized Queer and Trans youth in Toronto.
Their professional, community and lived experiences, coupled with their interest in reconciliation processes, transformative justice, consensual solidarity, trauma-informed living and access to justice inform their approaches to conflict management, resolution and ultimately figuring out how we do this life together.
SENIOR FACILITATOR
Nicole Desnoyers
She/Her
Diploma in Public Relations, Collège La Cité
Communications Specialist & Equity Educator
Nicole studied Indigenous Studies, Feminist and Gender Studies and general Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa from 2010-2015 while also working full-time for the university’s undergraduate student union. Her work at uOttawa includes organizing the first-ever campus Pow Wow by and for Indigenous students and creating new campus policies on sexual violence and support for survivors.
She then continued working with the Canadian student movement, where she had the opportunity to travel across Canada to work with college and university students in the fight for affordable and accessible post-secondary education. Her expertise was in supporting First Nations, Métis and Inuit students as well as LGBTQ2SIA+ students in their advocacy to make campuses safer for these communities.
Nicole has a passion for education and communications, which she considers as two of the most important tools to create meaningful progress within our workplaces and communities. Since leaving the student movement, she has obtained a diploma from La Cité Collégiale in public relations, has worked full-time for national and local labour unions and sat on boards and advisory bodies for Pride Toronto and Across Boundaries. Combining both her lived and professional experiences, she has been delivering workshops on anti-racism, addressing anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous racism, conflict resolution, mental health, communications and workplace management for over a decade.
VISUAL DESIGNER
Carolina Baracaldo
She/Her
Colombian-born Carolina is a visual and graphic designer. In this role, she is dedicated to creating designs that are both visually appealing and communicate messages effectively. With seven years of experience in the industry, she have worked with clients from various sectors, including beauty, food, and education. Her areas of expertise include logo design, print design, and web design. She takes pride in my ability to deliver projects on time and on budget, while maintaining the highest standards of quality.